BOARD MEMBER INTERVIEW

Roberta Parodi is President of Interglobo North America Inc., part of the Interglobo Group, a company that proudly calls itself “Your door-to-door freight forwarder” and has extensive expertise in shipping and logistics. She has been a board member of Friends of Bocconi since 2020, where she has made a significant contribution to the community through her leadership and engagement. She served as Co-Chair of the 2024 Bocconi Benefit Gala and is currently serving on the 2026 Bocconi Benefit Gala. 

Q: Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that you live by?
Search within yourself and you will find out what you are good at. This is what counts.

Q: What does philanthropy mean to you, and how does it guide your role on the board and beyond?
I think philanthropy is about love and passion. It is about having love for humanity and dedicating time to others. It is the desire to share your time, knowledge, and experience with others, besides sharing monetary resources. It is the desire to create opportunities, to bridge economic disparities. It is the hope to improve others’ and, perhaps especially, young people’s lives. In my case, philanthropy means sharing work experiences with the younger generation. My role can be to inspire young minds to envision opportunities for their future, in the hope that they may find joy, meaning and direction in their lives as they enter the working world.

Q: How long have you been a member of the board of Friends of Bocconi and what inspired you to join?
I was invited to join the board of Friends of Bocconi in 2020. Of course, I was honored to become part of the prestigious Bocconi community, and I was very excited to collaborate with Alumni and share knowledge and ideas about ways to integrate the younger generation into the world of business. I thought it would be an opportunity for me to help and especially to inspire younger generations by sharing the story of my work background and life experience.

Q: You served as Co-Chair of the 2024 Friends of Bocconi Benefit Gala. What did the success of that first edition of the event reveal to you about the strength and purpose of the Bocconi Alumni Community?
Bocconi has a large Alumni Community in the United States. Being able to reach and engage them through shared activities is important for Alumni and the University. It can be life-changing, especially when working overseas, to connect with one’s home university and fellow Alumni. Events like the 2024 Bocconi Benefit Gala are vital for fostering connections and strengthening the network. As awareness grows about the enormous role that Friends of Bocconi can play, more Alumni are getting involved, and I am confident that the 2026 Gala in September will be even more successful. The United States is at the forefront of philanthropy, and charitable institutions like Friends of Bocconi offer meaningful resources for Alumni and essential resources for students. Private donors can do so much when we work together.

Q: What is a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
I love social studies and humanities, and when I was in my twenties, I loved spending time in public libraries, searching for interesting books. I studied in Genova, and then in London and Cambridge. One of my coolest experiences was in the mid-eighties, when I received a Reader Pass to access and do research in the Old Library of the British Museum in London. (I’ve saved it in an old box, as an important piece of memorabilia of my life).